Donald Trump told reporters that he wore a mask inside but removed it because he didn't want to be photographed. Trump was reportedly encouraged by Bill Ford.

US President Donald Trump, who has been spotted without a mask multiple times, on May 21 refused to wear one yet again while speaking to reporters. Trump claimed that he wore a face mask while touring the facility but removed it while talking to the press. The US President reportedly said that he removed it as he didn't want to be photographed and seen with a mask. When Trump came outside he was seen without a mask but the rest of the employees and executives who were accompanying the president were wearing the face coverings.

As per reports, it was Ford executive Bill Ford who encouraged the president to wear a mask during his visit to the factory that is producing ventilators to battle the COVID-19 pandemic. In a statement released on Ford's website, the company said, "Bill Ford encouraged President Trump to wear a mask when he arrived. He wore a mask during a private viewing of three Ford GTs from over the years. The President later removed the mask for the remainder of the visit."

Donald Trump has time and again stirred controversy by his strange remarks regarding the COVID-19 outbreak. Trump first attracted national attention when he suggested injecting disinfectant to treat coronavirus patients during a press briefing last months. Then again, in May he said that he is taking the antimalaria drug hydroxychloroquine daily which garnered a lot of criticism because it has not been recommended by any public health agency to take the medicine.

COVID-19 in US

The United States remains the worst affected country in the world with over 1.5 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and more than 94,000 deaths. Donald Trump is receiving a lot of criticism over his handling of the crisis as he is still keen on reopening the economy, which experts believe is due to the upcoming presidential election in November.